Nolina Minj

1 month ago | scroll.in | Tabassum Barnagarwala |Anant Gupta |Rokibuz Zaman |Nolina Minj

On Wednesday morning, several hours after India launched Operation Sindoor against targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, Mudra Singhe made her way through an unseasonal rain shower to a civil defence drill in South Mumbai. A volunteer with the National Cadet Corps, the 19-year-old said the session taught her “how to carry out a rescue from a building, either by rappelling or by lying flat and proceeding”.

1 month ago | scroll.in | Nolina Minj

On the morning of March 7, hundreds of Adivasis dressed in traditional garb formed a human chain in the city of Ranchi. The chain stretched across two kilometres, from Harmu chowk to Argora chowk, a route through which Jharkhand’s chief minister Hemant Soren was expected to pass on his way to attend the budget session of the assembly.

2 months ago | scroll.in | Nolina Minj

Early on the morning of March 3, Mahesh, a 34-year-old resident of Rourkela, in Odisha, reported at the district sports complex in the town of Sundergarh, to take a physical test for a government job. For the test, he would have to walk or run 25 km within four hours. The test, conducted by the Odisha Subordinate Staff Selection Commission, was held jointly for the posts of forest guard, forester and livestock inspector. More than 8,000 aspirants had applied for 2,712 vacancies.

2 months ago | scroll.in | Tabassum Barnagarwala |Nolina Minj

When 24-year-old Vishal Kadam visited the Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya last January, he was keen to see the spot where the Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment. What caught Kadam’s eye, however, were idols of Hindu gods and goddesses in corners of the temple compound. “There was very little of the essence of Buddhism,” Kadam said. “There were so many priests performing pooja and claiming they could solve the problems of the pilgrims through rituals,” he said.

Feb 26, 2025 | scroll.in | Nolina Minj

Nearly three decades after Parliament enacted a law to empower gram sabhas in Adivasi areas, Jharkhand is slowly inching closer to finalising draft rules required to implement the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996. However, the draft rules circulated among civil society groups in December have ignited a debate as many activists have pointed out that they are not based on PESA. Instead, they draw upon a different state law – the Jharkhand Panchayati Raj Act, 2001.